A $650 Gaming Machine!! Can I have a review?

[GamingUsername]

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VdqdGX) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VdqdGX/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i34150) | $111.29 @ NCIX US

**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte GA-B85M-D2V Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gab85md2v) | $49.79 @ Newegg

**Memory** | [Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/team-memory-tlyd38g1600hc9dc01) | $79.98 @ OutletPC

**Storage** | [Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st1000dm003) | $51.99 @ NCIX US

**Video Card** | [MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-r9280gaming3g) | $259.98 @ OutletPC

**Case** | [Rosewill Line Glow ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-case-lineglow) | $39.99 @ Newegg

**Power Supply** | [Rosewill 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-power-supply-arcm650) | $49.99 @ Newegg

**Keyboard** | [Logitech MK120 Wired Slim Keyboard w/Optical Mouse](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/logitech-keyboard-920002565) | $13.99 @ Amazon

**Other**| S o f t w a r e S w a p Windows 8.1| $10.00

| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $667.00
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-12 18:54 EDT-0400 |

 

[Viking2121]

What games do you plan on playing? I see you have the R9 280, I would recommend a i5 or i7 to make sure you wont bottleneck the video card.

AMD I would recommend a FX6 core or 8 core over the i3, but you will need to change the motherboard.

 

[GamingUsername]

What games do you plan on playing? I see you have the R9 280, I would recommend a i5 or i7 to make sure you wont bottleneck the video card.

AMD I would recommend a FX6 core or 8 core over the i3, but you will need to change the motherboard.

What do you think if I get a i3-4370, would that help prevent bottlenecking?

 

[Viking2121]

Thats better for sure but its always gonna depend on the game

 

[Alexdiaz]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Y9Qfxr

I would recommend a i5-4670k and a R9-270x instead to make sure the i3 doesn't bottleneck the r9-280

 

[WhiteSnake91]

I would strongly suggest getting at least the cheap i5 4440 or 4570,etc and dropping to the r9 270x (or r9 270 if it's cheap) it's still quite capable at 1080p settings and I wouldn't get a dual core for modern gaming in 2014. You must care about games looking good judging by the r9 280 choice, really great GPU, it's a rebranded 7950 which I've had no problems with in a year and a half. But a quad core is really a must for modern gaming and multitasking.

I'd suggest even dropping to a cheaper h81 motherboard if it would allow you to at least get the i5 4440

 

[GamingUsername]

Thats better for sure but its always gonna depend on the game

Hmm alright! thanks. So would it still bottleneck? Like what games?

 

[GamingUsername]

I would strongly suggest getting at least the cheap i5 4440 or 4570,etc and dropping to the r9 270x (or r9 270 if it's cheap) it's still quite capable at 1080p settings and I wouldn't get a dual core for modern gaming in 2014. You must care about games looking good judging by the r9 280 choice, really great GPU, it's a rebranded 7950 which I've had no problems with in a year and a half. But a quad core is really a must for modern gaming and multitasking.

I'd suggest even dropping to a cheaper h81 motherboard if it would allow you to at least get the i5 4440

Would the 3.0 ghz i5 work...and any cheaper mobos that you know of?...thanks

 

[WhiteSnake91]

at $49 bucks I wouldn't go any lower on the motherboard, probably going to be skimping in quality and in reliability at any lower price than that. And yeah the 3.0ghz i5 would work if that's all you can spend, it's still really strong per core.

 

[GamingUsername]

at $49 bucks I wouldn't go any lower on the motherboard, probably going to be skimping in quality and in reliability at any lower price than that. And yeah the 3.0ghz i5 would work if that's all you can spend, it's still really strong per core.

Alright. and it shouldn't bottleneck my r9 280x...im getting that btw

 

[Viking2121]

Thats better for sure but its always gonna depend on the game

Hmm alright! thanks. So would it still bottleneck? Like what games?

Well, in games such as BF3 or BF3, Even Crysis the i3 or well pretty much any i3 will be a bottleneck in todays games. The R9 280 wont be able to stretch its legs as the CPU would sit at 100% while the GPU would sit at 50%. COD will be in issue to with an i3. Quad core all the way, even AMD's Quad cores I would pic over any i3 at this point in time. It always depends on the games.

 

[GamingUsername]

Thats better for sure but its always gonna depend on the game

Hmm alright! thanks. So would it still bottleneck? Like what games?

Well, in games such as BF3 or BF3, Even Crysis the i3 or well pretty much any i3 will be a bottleneck in todays games. The R9 280 wont be able to stretch its legs as the CPU would sit at 100% while the GPU would sit at 50%. COD will be in issue to with an i3. Quad core all the way, even AMD's Quad cores I would pic over any i3 at this point in time. It always depends on the games.

What about an i5-4430 with 3.0 ghz....would that help bottlenecking...like BF4 and Watchdogs....thanks

 

[Viking2121]

Thats better for sure but its always gonna depend on the game

Hmm alright! thanks. So would it still bottleneck? Like what games?

Well, in games such as BF3 or BF3, Even Crysis the i3 or well pretty much any i3 will be a bottleneck in todays games. The R9 280 wont be able to stretch its legs as the CPU would sit at 100% while the GPU would sit at 50%. COD will be in issue to with an i3. Quad core all the way, even AMD's Quad cores I would pic over any i3 at this point in time. It always depends on the games.

What about an i5-4430 with 3.0 ghz....would that help bottlenecking...like BF4 and Watchdogs....thanks

Thats a vary good choice, You wont have any issues with that i5

 

[WhiteSnake91]

yea the i5 would be fine